Free Republic

Dr. Lourdes Ashley Hunter was still reeling from President Trump’s announcement banning military service by transgender people when she received an email asking if she would help organize a protest against the policy. For Hunter, who identifies as transgender, the ban felt personal, so she was happy to help set up a protest in Washington, D.C. The local organizer offered to connect Hunter, executive director of the Trans Women of Color Collective, with a woman named Mary Smith from the activist group “ReSister.” For the next two days, Mary Smith worked with Hunter on Facebook Messenger to organize the protest....

At least three of the events co-organized on Facebook by a group the company now thinks was part of a coordinated disinformation network appear to have been held, and to have been attended by hundreds of people. The events, in New York City and Springfield, Mo., were all co-hosted on Facebook by a group called the Resisters. All three events were critical of President Trump. Archived versions of the event pages showed that 674 people responded on Facebook to say that they would attend the “We Stand with DREAMers! Support DACA!” event in New York on Sept. 9 last year....